for living with diabetes

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Amylin Pharmaceuticals have announced that they will be working together to fund a series of clinical studies testing the use of amylin in type 1 diabetes treatment. The research will establish whether mixing the drug pramlintide, a man-made version of the human hormone amylin, with insulin could improve blood glucose control in people with type 1 diabetes, compared to the use of insulin alone.

In a healthy pancreas, both insulin and amylin are produced and released by the same cells. The two hormones work together to help stabilise blood glucose levels. Insulin helps the body regulate production and storage of glucose, while amylin helps control the rate at which glucose enters the blood after meals.

Currently, patients who use pramlintide must separately administer their daily insulin therapy, either through injections or an insulin pump. Creating a mixture of the two drugs that still offers the benefits of both hormones, might better mimic the way a healthy pancreas works.

This is the second research partnership between JDRF and Amylin working to improve treatments for people with type 1 diabetes. The project is part of JDRF’s Industry Discovery and Development Partnership (IDDP) program aiming to accelerate research that will lead to better treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Eleanor Kennedy, Head of Research Communication at JDRF said, ‘ It will be interesting to see whether mixing pramlintide with insulin has the potential to help people with type 1 diabetes tighten their glucose control. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of the research resulting from this partnership.”